1. Field:
This invention relates to surgical instrument trays. More particularly, this invention discloses an improved surgical instrument tray to use, store, transport, and sterilize surgical instruments.
2. State of the Art:
Modern day surgery involves the use of a wide variety of different surgical instruments, including retractors and other kinds of clamps. Many of the instruments are of the scissors type and have lever members which connect through a pivot to working members. The instruments are typically of various types and designs to effect a variety of surgical purposes in a medical or hospital operating room environment. The lever members typically have handles to facilitate opening and closing by the user's fingers.
It is often desirable to have surgical instruments organized or collected in trays or other receptacles in a particular sequence or order for use in specific surgical procedures such as an appendectomy or the like. Further, it is frequently desirable to sterilize batches or quantities of surgical instruments in an autoclave or other device used for sterilizing surgical instruments. In addition, applicant understands that it is typical to periodically inventory and to otherwise maintain close control of surgical instruments.
A variety of devices exist for storing and controlling surgical instruments. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,420 (Smith) discloses a surgical instrument rack having two sections or members which may be separated to load and unload the rack and which may be latched together to secure a number of ring-handled surgical instruments. This device is difficult to handle and place in an autoclave, is complex in structure, and does not protect the working members of the instruments from accidental touching or bumping. U.S. Pat. No. 3,925,014 (Langdon) discloses a wire rack type device for storing and supporting surgical instruments. This device employs special clamps to hold and group instruments and does not lend itself to easy use in an autoclave. Further, the working members are not protected from touching or bumping.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,903,129 (Anderson III) discloses a device in which instruments are not secured so that the device, with instruments in place, cannot be placed in a variety of positions in an autoclave.
There appears to be a need for a simple surgical instrument tray which is useful for using, storing, inventorying, sterlizing, transporting, and dispensing surgical instruments in an organized manner. The tray should be inexpensive, sterilizable and susceptible to easy use proximate the operating site in an operating room environment.